Joe O'Toole (Independent)

We had a long debate last week on the question of our commitment to the Kyoto Protocol. I do not believe any Member on this side of the House is more committed to the environment than any Member on the other side but I firmly believe that Ministers and Members of Government parties are being set up with false information on the issue. Last Wednesday night, the Minister stated everything was rosy in the garden, that Ireland is the only country in Europe not being chased by the European Union in respect of the protocol and that we are very much on course towards meeting our commitments. Many people, including Senators Kitt and Brady, gave us back the information they had been given. I do not blame them for that, but we need to recognise that it is not good enough any more.

I am not asking anyone to concede anything to me here on the floor of the House. I am just asking people to raise this matter in their parliamentary parties. What is going on is disgraceful. Two days after last week's debate, the European Community expressed the view that Ireland languishes near the bottom of the league. It said that under current conditions, Ireland will miss its target by almost 16%. It pointed out that Ireland's emissions will increase by 30% if something is not done. Perhaps everybody is happy with that. I want to know whether our colleagues are being misinformed in this regard. If they are, it is disgraceful.

I thank Senator Brian Hayes for highlighting the role of the Personal Injuries Assessment Board. When I raised the issue in the House with the Leader on a previous occasion, she kindly agreed to arrange a discussion on it. The reports in the news media yesterday were worse than fraudulent — they were misinformed, inaccurate and wrong in every way.

I should declare an interest in this regard because I am the vice-chair of the PIAB. I have double-checked every single fact. I would welcome a debate on this matter as early as possible next week. I wish to remove any doubt by making it clear that there is no backlog, despite what one might have heard in the news media yesterday about the size of the backlog and the length of time it will take to get through it. The board is completely ahead of schedule.

It was reported that the PIAB has dealt with 4,000 cases so far this year, which is true. It has been in operation for just a year and a half. It will be in a position to clear 10,000 cases next year. It has reduced the length of time it takes to settle a case from three years to seven months. It has saved the country €70 million in costs, to date. It will save a further €45 million every year from now on. The PIAB settled 4,000 cases last year, but the courts settled fewer than 2,000 cases. That was not mentioned in the news reports. Next year, the board will settle 10,000 cases, or 200 cases a week.

It was suggested by the news media that the board will have to increase its rate of case settlement from 50 per week to 200 per week. The reporter in question was informed last Friday that the board is already settling approximately 170 cases per week. We are there. Everything is completely on target. We are ahead of schedule. We are ahead of our objectives. The board will deliver exactly what the four main parties in this country have sought to support all the way through. I ask people to have full confidence in the PIAB.